The novels in the “Pretty Little Liars” series written by American author Sara Shepard have reached the New York Times best seller list and some installments have reached the top spot. The series has four different arcs that have four books each to them and each one shows the introduction and the exposure of each antagonist. There are a total of sixteen novels in the series.

There are four lead girls, they are Spencer Hastings, Aria Montgomery, Hanna Marin, and Emily Fields in the series.

Aria is thought to be a weirdo in the small town of Rosewood; she is also artsy, independent and quirky. Aria spends the early books trying find herself.

Emily is a swimmer who secret has feelings for Alison; she struggles with her sexuality (she is a lesbian but does not tell her family). Emily is thought of the other girls to be the jock of the group.

Hanna is overweight who wants to be both popular and thin like Alison, and has an eating disorder that Ali taunted her for. Hanna is the strong one and leader of the group after Alison disappears.

Then there is Spencer, who is ambitious and brave enough to stand up against Alison and her ways. Spencer comes from the wealthy family Hastings, and is an overachiever and headstrong.

A fifth girl, Alison DiLaurentis is the leader of the group (or clique) and is manipulative towards the girls. She disappears before the five girls are to start the eighth grade.

“Pretty Little Liars” by Sara Shepard is the first novel in the “Pretty Little Liars” series that came out in 2006. Four friends get into an argument with their manipulative leader and wind up killing her on accident. They bury her body, cover it with cement, and think that is all to that and that they will get away with everything and no one will ever know what they have done. The story picks up three years later, and quickly you see that the four have been separated in the time since middle school. It then shows them return to Rosewood, the town that they used to live in. Things have changed for each member of the group. Aria is more sophisticated since returning from Iceland. Emily, after becoming friends with the new girl Maya, develops feelings for her fast. Spencer struggles with her sister, Melissa, who is perfect. She also has feelings for Wren, Melissa’s boyfriend. Hanna, who has lost weight and is now popular, starts to get text messages from someone calling themselves A. A seems to know all the secrets that only Alison knew.

Fans of the novel were unable to put the novel down, and started reading it when they got home. The mystery in the novel grabs a hold of you and will not let go until you have figured things out. The novels are enjoyable for both kids and even adults too. The series features friends, boys, and mystery. Some enjoyed the finding out all the secrets and how much scandal that was put into one novel. Fans liked that the girls are both beautiful but at the same time, there is evil inside them. These feel like real girls that you could see in any high school.

Some did not like the fact the novel has some of the mean girls that made high school horrible for them. They lived it once, it is bad enough to have to read about it in a novel and relive all of that. Some found that the novels are not well written at all that makes bad behavior of all kinds cool because they are doing it. Some did not like the novel due to the fact that the girls being blackmailed almost deserved to be blackmailed and were not all that likeable. Had they been, it may have been worth the read.

“Flawless” by Sara Shepard is the second novel in the “Pretty Little Liars” series that came out in 2007. A is still sending Emily, Aria, Hanna, and Spencer text messages and they have been trying to figure out the identity of this mysterious person who wants tell their secrets to the world. They believe that the texter is Alison, but then they think that it is a guy named Toby due to the fact that besides Alison (who they believe is dead), he is the only one who knows about something that A is talking about. A says something to Emily about how A knows about her new relationship and how they will spill the beans on everything related to it.

Fans of the novel enjoyed the characters and how well drawn they are, but also how much more you get to learn about them this time. You get to dig deeper into their psyches this time and get to know them more. There was a certain character that in the first book did not get any sympathy, but this time they were more likeable. Some like the way things escalate further this time, the way the secrets are told a little more. And a major ‘thing’ is explained more in depth in this novel. Some like the way that the novel allows the reader to come to their own conclusion, as if they are a member of the group being blackmailed by A. Fans try to read the novels slowly so that they can enjoy every scene and so that they can make the whole experience last for them. They enjoyed all of the drama that can be read about in the novel. They cannot wait, these fans, to read more of these highly popular books.

Some did not like the way the novel promotes young kids to do bad behavior and makes it seem that all kids act this way. Some feel that the novel went nowhere and left them disappointed as the first novel had them hooked. Some were not as wowed by this novel as they were with the first, and felt things were played a little safe this time out and is a little predictable.

The series has been adapted into a television series that airs on ABC Family, which made its debut in the year 2010.

Jack Reacher is back! Personally I thought this was the 2nd best Reacher book yet. The latest book in the Jack Reacher series, Past Tense, came out November 5th. Family secrets come back to haunt Reacher when he decides to visit the town his father was born in. Why? Because when he visits there he finds out no-one with the last name of Reacher has ever lived there. It leaves him wondering - did his father ever live there? More Details.

Recommendations

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Featured Series

One of my favourite series is the Brilliance Saga by Marcus Sakey and it is our featured series of the month. It's just an incredible light sci-fi series that fans of "Dark Matter" would also enjoy. It's free on Kindle Unlimited too! More Details.

Featured Author

Our author of the month is Canadian author Opal Carew who writes erotic romance novels. Opal has written over 100 novels with multiple book series such as the Dirty Talk series and the Abducted series. If you’re a fan of erotic romance, be sure to check out Opal Carew.

Did You Know…

Although Anne Rice's birth name was Howard Allen O’Brien, she chose the name “Anne” when she entered the first grade at St. Alphonsus Grammar School